Homemade Almond Milk

Unfortunately for me, I have difficulty consuming cow dairy. I don’t seem to have gut disturbances but I will be clearing my throat continually after the consumption of a cracker smothered in melty brie or a bowl of my favorite ice cream. This gets annoying to anyone who is hanging with me at the time..aka my husband:)

Since switching to nut milks I have been continually frustrated with the added ingredients to what I am drinking. The only store bought brand I could find that had no additives was New Barn. I make so many foods from scratch that I was afraid to add yet another thing to my list of “food prep” for the week.

It wasn’t until I tried this recipe that I realized how easy it was. I now make it on a regular basis and even have been creative with different flavors. Cinnamon and Vanilla are my favorite additions so I am sharing my favorite recipe with you! This recipe is originally from one of my favorite cookbooks, “At Home In The Whole food Kitchen” by Amy Chaplin. I am obsessed with all her recipes right now so you will see a lot more coming your way on my blog.

Ingredients

4 cups raw nuts or seeds (Almonds and cashews are my favorite)

4 cups water, plus more for soaking

pinch of sea salt

sprinkling of cinnamon

2 tsps. vanilla

Directions

To begin, you will need to acquire a nut milk bag. I chose one that was made out of unbleached hemp. There are many different varieties so check out your health food store or Amazon.

1. Place nuts in bowl and cover with about 2 cups of filtered water and let sit for at least 6 hours.

2. Strain Almonds from soaking liquid and pour into a high speed blender (Vitamix is my blender of choice for this)

3. Add 4 cups of water to almonds with a pinch of sea salt and process until smooth.

4. Hold nut milk bag over a large bowl and pour processed milk into the nut milk bag.

5. Gather up the edges of the nut milk bag and twist lightly around the top to start squeezing the strained milk into the bowl.

6. It’s right about now that I give the nut milk bag a twist to get every last bit of liquid out. (I reserve the almond leftovers for my morning smoothies)

7. At this stage you have almond milk, (it is absolutely delicious at this stage), but this is where I want to add my cinnamon and vanilla. Put all the nut milk back in the blender and add the additional ingredients and process for just a few seconds to incorporate the flavors.

8. Pour into glass jar with lid and refrigerate. Shake before using. Almond milk will last up to a week in the refrigerator.

Give this a try! It really is simple and I cannot get over how creamy it is. Much better than the store bought version and you know every ingredient that went into it.